Kraken vs. Gemini

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Quick Verdict

Kraken and Gemini vastly streamline the trading experience by letting customers choose whether to use a basic or advanced trading interface. While both platforms cater to a similar audience, Kraken offers a larger selection of cryptocurrencies, lower fees, and greater flexibility regarding staking assets, making it the superior option of both crypto exchanges.

	Kraken	Gemini
Website	https://www.hedgewithcrypto.com/go/kraken	https://www.hedgewithcrypto.com/go/gemini
Promotion	None available at this time	None available at this time
Fiat Currency	USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, JPY & AUD	USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, SGD, HKD & AUD
Supported Cryptocurrency	222	87
Deposit Method	Bank transfer, wire transfers, SWIFT	Bank transfer, wire transfers, debit card
Max. Trading Fee	0.16% (maker) and 0.26% (taker)	1.49%
Overall Rating	HedgewithCrypto Score 4.8 / 5 We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. Visit Kraken	HedgewithCrypto Score 3.5 / 5 We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. Visit Gemini
Review	Read our full Kraken Review	Read our full Gemini Review

Founded in 2011 but officially launched in 2013, Kraken is a San Francisco-based crypto exchange that lets users buy, sell, trade, and stake cryptocurrency. Kraken is a great choice for security-conscious investors as it prides itself on customer safety. Still, the exchange is worth considering for anyone due to its low fees and selection of assets.

With more than 6 million users worldwide, the FinCEN-registered company is widely considered a top exchange and one of the best crypto margin trading platforms on the market.

On the other hand, Gemini was founded in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins of Facebook fame. The exchange is headquartered in New York and hosts over 300,000 users worldwide. Gemini gained popularity as it was one of the few exchanges to be allowed to operate in every US state, making it a great choice for American traders and investors.

Unlike other crypto exchanges, Gemini prides itself on regulatory compliance and is one of the few platforms on which to earn a New York Trust Licence, in addition to a plethora of money transmitter licenses in other states.

Read our full Gemini review.

Supported Countries

Kraken and Gemini are top cryptocurrency platforms based in the USA, and FinCEN and other government authorities worldwide highly regulate them. Both exchanges allow citizens in multiple countries to buy, sell, and trade crypto with local currencies. However, certain countries, like Russia and Tunisia, cannot use either exchange. Additionally, Kraken restricts some features in certain regions.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Supported Payment Methods and Fiat Currencies

Only some have existing crypto holdings ready to trade, so an exchange must provide a simple and efficient fiat on-ramp exchange. Kraken and Gemini accept direct fiat currency deposits and crypto purchases using seven fiat currencies. The available payment methods vary based on the currency, but some form of e-wallets, bank transfers, or credit/debit card deposits are typical.

On top of their fiat currency support, Kraken and Gemini accept cryptocurrency deposits, enabling users to trade using funds they already have. Unfortunately, neither platform offers a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) marketplace, which would expand supported payment methods into more local options. That said, Canadian investors can deposit on Kraken using in-person cash, giving it a slight edge.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Supported Cryptocurrencies

As most crypto investors and traders know, hundreds of cryptocurrencies are on the market. However, many exchanges do not list smaller projects, which limits the availability of profitable opportunities. While Kraken offers an impressive selection of 240 cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, and XRP, Gemini offers far fewer assets, just 87. The story is similar when we look at trading pairs, with Kraken boasting 766 and Gemini lagging with 123.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Features

Kraken and Gemini both offer a suite of tools and features designed to assist customers. While both platforms are on fairly equal footing, they lack advanced features like trading bots and crypto loans.

Kraken is a well-designed exchange that offers something for everyone. People new to the crypto space can make use of the basic Kraken platform to buy and sell digital assets quickly without having to use an order book-based interface. Furthermore, you can easily swap one crypto to another on the standard Kraken platform with only a couple of clicks, making it ideal for quickly swapping assets.

On Kraken's advanced crypto trading platform, users can access an expanded set of features, including detailed analytics like aggressor differential rolling volatility and order book imbalance, to find profitable opportunities they would've otherwise missed. Furthermore, Kraken Pro users can trade on an order book interface and stake 16 assets for up to 26% APR.

Like Kraken, Gemini offers simple, advanced modes to cater to a wider audience. The simple version of Gemini is very basic, containing only a basic trading interface that lets users buy, sell, or convert their crypto. Additionally, customers can set up recurring orders to purchase crypto at regular intervals.

Staking is available on Gemini's standard and advanced modes, but it pales compared to Kraken's impressive staking platform. Presently, Gemini only supports Ethereum staking and has a minimum requirement of 32 ETH, which is unattainable for most users.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Ease of Use

The user experience is an important consideration for beginners looking for the best way to buy Bitcoin with local currency. Trading, creating an account, completing identity verification, linking a payment method, and purchasing cryptocurrency should be fast, simple, and safe to use.

Kraken is intuitive to use, meaning that users can quickly get to grips with the platform, lessening the time required to get familiar with the exchange. Kraken is divided into a standard and advanced platform, each catering to a different kind of user. While beginners will appreciate the simplicity of the standard platform, experienced traders will prefer the tools offered by Kraken Pro.

Trading on Kraken will feel familiar to anyone with experience using an exchange. The standard platform makes buying, selling, and swapping crypto simple because it uses a simple order form with no charts or complex tools. On the other hand, Kraken Pro uses a typical order book interface powered by TradingView with support for margin trading and futures trading, but it could be difficult for new users to get to grips with.

Gemini takes a very similar approach to Kraken in terms of user experience. The exchange is split into the standard Gemini platform, which does not feature an order book and lets users buy crypto without any complexities, and Gemini ActiveTrader, which features an order book, many technical indicators, and a plethora of analysis tools providing plenty of analysis options to knowledgeable traders.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Transaction Fees

The fees are a major consideration for anyone seeking a good cryptocurrency exchange. Many expenses can be levied, including costs to deposit funds, convert foreign currency, transaction costs, and fees to withdraw funds from the exchange.

Trading fees on Kraken start at 0.16% (maker) and 0.26% (taker) per transaction for crypto-to-crypto pairs, while stablecoin or pegged token pairs cost 0.2%. However, fees can be reduced with increased trading volume. Kraken also charges a 3.75% + €0.25 transaction fee to purchase cryptocurrency instantly using a debit card. A spread cost is added, which can vary depending on the market conditions.

Monthly Trading Volume	Kraken Pro Fees	Gemini ActiveTrader Fees
$0	0.16% (maker) / 0.26% (taker)	0.20% (maker) / 0.40% (taker)
$50,000+	0.14% / 0.24%	0.10% / 0.30%
$100,000+	0.12% / 0.22%	0.08% / 0.20%
$1 million+	0.06% / 0.16%	0.05% / 0.15%

Conversely, Gemini uses a complex fee structure. On the standard platform, a variable USD fee is charged for web orders under $200. However, orders over $200 will incur a 1.49% fee. Furthermore, people using the ActiveTrader platform are charged 0.40% (taker) and 0.20% (maker), with volume-based discounts available.

Related: How to withdraw from Gemini.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Trading Volume and Liquidity

An often overlooked aspect of a crypto exchange is trading volumes and liquidity. For a platform to offer low slippage on high-value orders, it must have sufficient liquidity. Our research on Kraken vs. Gemini found that Kraken typically ranks within the top three exchanges based on average daily trading volume and boasts a liquidity score of 773 out of 1000. Conversely, Gemini only facilitates around 1/20th of Kraken's trading volume and boasts a lower liquidity score of 681/1000.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Mobile App

Kraken and Gemini offer mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. While Kraken boasts a 4.7/5 rating based on 4,000 reviews, Gemini holds a higher 4.8/5 based on 95,000 reviews, which indicates Gemini's app is far more popular with customers.

Unfortunately, Kraken has divided its services into regular and Kraken Pro apps. The standard app features basic line charts, minimal analytics, and a beginner-friendly way to purchase crypto. However, Kraken Pro offers an order-book-based interface, but it lacks any crypto indicators or drawing tools, significantly limiting its usefulness.

On the other hand, Gemini bundles all of its features into a single app, but its ActiveTrader features are unavailable if you want to trade crypto, limiting the app's reach to novice traders searching for a simple way to track the market and buy crypto. No in-depth analytics or order book is available, but you can set up recurring orders and easily buy crypto in seconds with Apple/Google Pay.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Customer Support

Things are bound to go wrong at some point, so having access to a robust support system is crucial.

Kraken has created a help center containing articles on common topics like unlocking futures trading, withdrawing crypto, and completing a purchase. However, compared to Gemini, far fewer articles are available. For customers requiring tailored help, Kraken offers an AI chatbot and live chat support. During our testing, we found response times to be around two hours despite a high volume of tickets.

The Gemini cryptocurrency exchange has also built a help center for its customers, but it offers far more depth than Kraken, with a larger quantity of articles, improving its usefulness. Like Kraken, Gemini offers live chat support with an AI bot and human customer service representatives, but wait times were comparable to Kraken at the time of writing.

Kraken vs. Gemini: Security Measures

The security of customer information and funds is crucial for investors and traders using a cryptocurrency exchange. As expected, Kraken and Gemini take customer protection very seriously and feature world-class security teams and measures such as two-factor authentication (2FA) to ensure the highest security standard.

Kraken stores 95% of client funds in cold storage to protect its customers if the platform gets compromised by a bad actor. Furthermore, customers can set up email withdrawal confirmations and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) or extra protection. Moreover, Kraken is ISO 27001 certified, with 24/7 armed guards protecting its servers. Hackers have never compromised Kraken.

Gemini is also ISO 27001 certified, meaning it's compliant with the industry's latest security recommendations. Customers can set up 2FA and use hardware security keys for even more protection. You can also add specific withdrawal addresses to an allow list to protect against hackers sending your funds off the exchange. Despite its efforts, Gemini was hacked, leading to the leak of millions of customers' information.

Final Comparison Scores

To conclude our comparison of which exchange is better, Kraken or Gemini, we have created a simple scoring system for each of our evaluation criteria.

Comparison Criteria	Winner
Supported Countries	Draw
Payment Methods	Kraken
Supported Cryptocurrencies	Kraken
Features	Kraken
Ease of Use	Draw
Transaction Fees	Kraken
Mobile App	Kraken
Security Measures	Kraken
Customer Support	Gemini
Overall Winner	Kraken